Pete Eeles
- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
The Photographer's Eye
One of my favourite photography books is "The Photographer's Eye" by Michael Freeman. It focuses on composition and discusses not only lines, curves and the like, but also colour (and which colours work well together). A newly-emerged female Duke (the result of an egg I bred through last year) gave me the opportunity to try different poses and colour schemes - before she was safely released where she came from. The combination of advice from the book, and advice from John Bogle (Fishiee) and others at the 2010 photography workshop, all came into play. Result below. I'll definitely be getting up early from now on to catch the critters while they're still roosting
Cheers,
- Pete
One of my favourite photography books is "The Photographer's Eye" by Michael Freeman. It focuses on composition and discusses not only lines, curves and the like, but also colour (and which colours work well together). A newly-emerged female Duke (the result of an egg I bred through last year) gave me the opportunity to try different poses and colour schemes - before she was safely released where she came from. The combination of advice from the book, and advice from John Bogle (Fishiee) and others at the 2010 photography workshop, all came into play. Result below. I'll definitely be getting up early from now on to catch the critters while they're still roosting
Cheers,
- Pete
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
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- Rogerdodge
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Re: Pete Eeles
Pete
Stunning image.
I wish I had taken it (you don't get higher praise than that!)
Stunning image.
I wish I had taken it (you don't get higher praise than that!)
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
Cheers
Roger
Roger
Re: Pete Eeles
Really lovely.
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- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
Thanks both ...
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- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
Hants and Wilts
Probably the best day I've had so far this year for butterflying! After a dismal day yesterday with 100% grey skies for the better part of the day, I woke up to a cloudless sky. I was in the car within 15 minutes My first port of call was Bentley Wood, where Gary (Gruditch) had tipped me off that the Pearl-bordered Fritillary numbers were the best for several years. He wasn't kidding! Unfortunately, I arrived at 0845 and the males were already very active and none settled for photos, so I resigned myself to finding ovipositing females and mating pairs. I managed to find 4 ovipositing females who seemed to lay on pretty much anything but the foodplant! Eggs were laid on grass stems, bracken, bramble, dead leaves and one, just one, on Dog-violet! But the numbers were quite something - just standing in the same spot in the eastern clearing, I'd have 3 or 4 passing by me every couple of minutes!
I met up with "Tony from Sheffield" as well as Ashley Whitlock, the Purple Emperor and Duke of Burgundy coordinator for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight branch of Butterfly Conservation. Now, I've never seen a Duke of Burgundy in Bentley Wood before, and was amazed when Ashley pointed one out to me - right in front of us! Possibly the highlight of the day, given the dire straits this particular species is in. And Ashley assures me he hadn't brought it with him! We also saw the very local Argent and Sable moth - looking very much like a miniature Marbled White! We also saw a couple of active Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - although neither stopped for photos. Several Brimstones were also around, with females ovipositing on the abundant Alder Buckthorn. My tip for the year is "never add extension tubes to your camera in the field" - lots of "dust spot removal" in the images below!
A quick jaunt over to a copse within a Wiltshire Wood then revealed a good number of Marsh Fritillary at this very sensitive site. Devil's-bit Scabious carpetted the floor and bodes well for the future of the Marsh Frit. here.
Heading back home, I decided to stop at a woodland clearing near Stockbridge Down, and am very glad I did! Numerous Duke of Burgundy were flying at this private site, together with double digits of very fresh Brown Argus, together with several male Common Blue - both firsts for me this year. But the "piece de resistance" was an almost-white Dingy Skipper, and my first aberration of the year.
Cheers,
- Pete
Probably the best day I've had so far this year for butterflying! After a dismal day yesterday with 100% grey skies for the better part of the day, I woke up to a cloudless sky. I was in the car within 15 minutes My first port of call was Bentley Wood, where Gary (Gruditch) had tipped me off that the Pearl-bordered Fritillary numbers were the best for several years. He wasn't kidding! Unfortunately, I arrived at 0845 and the males were already very active and none settled for photos, so I resigned myself to finding ovipositing females and mating pairs. I managed to find 4 ovipositing females who seemed to lay on pretty much anything but the foodplant! Eggs were laid on grass stems, bracken, bramble, dead leaves and one, just one, on Dog-violet! But the numbers were quite something - just standing in the same spot in the eastern clearing, I'd have 3 or 4 passing by me every couple of minutes!
I met up with "Tony from Sheffield" as well as Ashley Whitlock, the Purple Emperor and Duke of Burgundy coordinator for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight branch of Butterfly Conservation. Now, I've never seen a Duke of Burgundy in Bentley Wood before, and was amazed when Ashley pointed one out to me - right in front of us! Possibly the highlight of the day, given the dire straits this particular species is in. And Ashley assures me he hadn't brought it with him! We also saw the very local Argent and Sable moth - looking very much like a miniature Marbled White! We also saw a couple of active Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - although neither stopped for photos. Several Brimstones were also around, with females ovipositing on the abundant Alder Buckthorn. My tip for the year is "never add extension tubes to your camera in the field" - lots of "dust spot removal" in the images below!
A quick jaunt over to a copse within a Wiltshire Wood then revealed a good number of Marsh Fritillary at this very sensitive site. Devil's-bit Scabious carpetted the floor and bodes well for the future of the Marsh Frit. here.
Heading back home, I decided to stop at a woodland clearing near Stockbridge Down, and am very glad I did! Numerous Duke of Burgundy were flying at this private site, together with double digits of very fresh Brown Argus, together with several male Common Blue - both firsts for me this year. But the "piece de resistance" was an almost-white Dingy Skipper, and my first aberration of the year.
Cheers,
- Pete
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies: http://www.butterflylifecycles.com
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Re: Pete Eeles
Lovely images Pete, the Duke from the 17th is excellent.
Cheers
Bill
Cheers
Bill
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- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
Thanks Bill!
Hampshire and Isle of Wight New Members' Day
The day started off with a quick visit to Magdalen Hill Down. I have to say, the numbers of Brown Argus are like I've never seen before - I counted over 100 individuals on the lower slopes of the original part of the reserve in 15 minutes, including 4 mating pairs - most of which were being hassled by other males. Several females had only just emerged and would undoubtedly have ended up with deformed wings, given the attention they were getting as their wings dried.
I then went on to the new Holiday Inn that has been built, just up the road, to support the Hants and Isle of Wight new members' day, where I presented on the butterflies found within the area covered by the branch. This was followed by presentations from Robin Turner (website), Dave Green (recording), Lynn Fomison (gardening for butterflies and moths, and reserves) and Tim Norriss (the moths of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight). All ably hosted by Roger Buchanan, the branch chairman.
The afternoon was spent back at the BC reserve at Magdalen Hill Down where, following a picnic lunch, we split into groups for a tour of the site. As well as extraordinary numbers of Brown Argus, there were also good numbers of Common Blue, and the occasional Green Hairstreak and Grizzled Skipper. Orange-tip, Brimstone, Peacock and Red Admiral also put in an appearance. 2 Small Blue, my first of the year, were also seen. Also nice to bump into UKB members Clive and Shirley on the reserve! All in all, a really great time, and a pleasure to welcome around 30 new members to the branch - including the younger generation, which is always great to see!
Cheers,
- Pete
Hampshire and Isle of Wight New Members' Day
The day started off with a quick visit to Magdalen Hill Down. I have to say, the numbers of Brown Argus are like I've never seen before - I counted over 100 individuals on the lower slopes of the original part of the reserve in 15 minutes, including 4 mating pairs - most of which were being hassled by other males. Several females had only just emerged and would undoubtedly have ended up with deformed wings, given the attention they were getting as their wings dried.
I then went on to the new Holiday Inn that has been built, just up the road, to support the Hants and Isle of Wight new members' day, where I presented on the butterflies found within the area covered by the branch. This was followed by presentations from Robin Turner (website), Dave Green (recording), Lynn Fomison (gardening for butterflies and moths, and reserves) and Tim Norriss (the moths of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight). All ably hosted by Roger Buchanan, the branch chairman.
The afternoon was spent back at the BC reserve at Magdalen Hill Down where, following a picnic lunch, we split into groups for a tour of the site. As well as extraordinary numbers of Brown Argus, there were also good numbers of Common Blue, and the occasional Green Hairstreak and Grizzled Skipper. Orange-tip, Brimstone, Peacock and Red Admiral also put in an appearance. 2 Small Blue, my first of the year, were also seen. Also nice to bump into UKB members Clive and Shirley on the reserve! All in all, a really great time, and a pleasure to welcome around 30 new members to the branch - including the younger generation, which is always great to see!
Cheers,
- Pete
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies: http://www.butterflylifecycles.com
British & Irish Butterflies Rarities: http://www.butterflyrarities.com
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- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
Martin Down
With the current heatwave, I thought I'd get to Martin Down at a ridiculously-early 0730 and still get to work on time! The Adonis Blue are starting to emerge in force, with over 30 males seen and 4 found expanding their wings, having just emerged from the pupa. I also found 2 females, one of which was surprisingly worn. I found that a great way of finding newly-emerged adults was to follow those that were flying, since they were much more adept at finding things rummaging in the short turf! I also saw good numbers of Dingy and Grizzled Skippers, Small Blue, Green Hairstreak, Small Heath, Common Blue, Brown Argus and Brimstone, together with single sightings of Peacock, Orange-tip and Small Copper.
Unfortunately, while sitting watching an Adonis Blue male crawling up a grass stem to expand its wings, I heard a mighty crash behind me. I turned around to find my camera on the deck, and my beloved 150mm macro lens in pieces, literally Hopefully it won't take too long to fix. But don't expect any photos for a while
Cheers,
- Pete
With the current heatwave, I thought I'd get to Martin Down at a ridiculously-early 0730 and still get to work on time! The Adonis Blue are starting to emerge in force, with over 30 males seen and 4 found expanding their wings, having just emerged from the pupa. I also found 2 females, one of which was surprisingly worn. I found that a great way of finding newly-emerged adults was to follow those that were flying, since they were much more adept at finding things rummaging in the short turf! I also saw good numbers of Dingy and Grizzled Skippers, Small Blue, Green Hairstreak, Small Heath, Common Blue, Brown Argus and Brimstone, together with single sightings of Peacock, Orange-tip and Small Copper.
Unfortunately, while sitting watching an Adonis Blue male crawling up a grass stem to expand its wings, I heard a mighty crash behind me. I turned around to find my camera on the deck, and my beloved 150mm macro lens in pieces, literally Hopefully it won't take too long to fix. But don't expect any photos for a while
Cheers,
- Pete
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
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- Rogerdodge
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Re: Pete Eeles
Ouch........................
Pete I really feel for you. I remember, a few years back, the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when my beloved Sigma 180 macro decided to split in two following years of hard use.
I sent it off to those nice people at the Sigma repair centre (in Milton Keynes if I remember correctly) and got it back, better than new, in only about 10 days.
Chin up old boy.
Pete I really feel for you. I remember, a few years back, the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when my beloved Sigma 180 macro decided to split in two following years of hard use.
I sent it off to those nice people at the Sigma repair centre (in Milton Keynes if I remember correctly) and got it back, better than new, in only about 10 days.
Chin up old boy.
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
Cheers
Roger
Roger
- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
Thank you sir! Their service centre seems pretty responsive so far (i.e. they answer the phone and give sound advice - seem to know their stuff).
I'm pretty much out of action now until the 14th June anyway. I was hoping to spend some time at Glasdrum Wood this week but my meetings in Scotland got canned today , and I'm in the US the week of 7th anyway. What could possibly be big news next week? Given the current emergence, quite a lot I suspect
Cheers,
- Pete
I'm pretty much out of action now until the 14th June anyway. I was hoping to spend some time at Glasdrum Wood this week but my meetings in Scotland got canned today , and I'm in the US the week of 7th anyway. What could possibly be big news next week? Given the current emergence, quite a lot I suspect
Cheers,
- Pete
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
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- Jack Harrison
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Re: Pete Eeles
One significant advantage of a Box Brownie is that when you drop it, you don’t cry quite as much – you simply buy a new one for the equivalent cost of the repair of a DSLR macro lens.
Jack
Jack
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Re: Pete Eeles
I think going from a DSLR to a Box Brownie (whatever that is!) would make me cry more
Cheers,
- Pete
Cheers,
- Pete
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Re: Pete Eeles
Pete:
Oh dear. Very sad that you can't appreciate its advantages JackI think going from a DSLR to a Box Brownie (whatever that is!) would make me cry more
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- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
Oh - I have one of those already, made from a cardboard box and a pin
I just didn't realise anyone still used them.
Cheers,
- Pete
I just didn't realise anyone still used them.
Cheers,
- Pete
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
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- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
I spent some time today working on a replacement macro capability! With help from Gary (Gruditch, thanks mate!), my 100-400mm "dust pump", with extension tube, is now functioning as a very heavyweight macro lens! Went out to a local common to try it out, but could only find some female Broad-bodied Chasers with no butterflies in sight! This setup should tide me over for a while, although I can make out a couple of large dust spots, no doubt of Martin Down origin, so will have to get the body professionally cleaned, unfortunately.
Cheers,
- Pete
Cheers,
- Pete
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
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- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
White-letter Hairstreak story
I've been rearing a few White-letter Hairstreak from ova this year, and the first larva has just pupated, so time to tell the story through pictures! First, the egg, looking very much like a saucer from outer space which over-wintered, with a fully-formed caterpillar inside.
Unfortunately, I failed to get any decent shots of the 1st instar larvae, as they immediately headed for the elm flower buds and seemed to disappear completely! However, the 2nd instar larvae were more-exposed, although perfectly camouflaged against the flowers and developing seeds (and they were quite variable in colour).
The 3rd instar larvae were also quite variable in colour, but started to move in earnest from the flower buds and developing seeds to the leaves - most of which weren't out yet. The last photo in this series shows how the larva plunged its neck into the developing buds and scooped out the contents - you can see an exit hole at the top! This photo is almost identical to an illustration in Frohawk's classic "The Natural History of British Butterflies". I'm wondering if this behaviour happens in the wild or, as so often happens, growth is accelerated in captivity (despite being kept outdoors!).
The final instar seemed to lose most of their variegated colouration, being a more-even green to match an elm leaf. The shape of the larva perfectly matched the outline of the elm leaves it fed upon.
The colour changed as the time to pupate arrived, when the larva turns a very dull green.
And finally, the pupa is typically formed on the underside of a leaf, or on a twig, attached by a silk girdle and the cremaster.
Can't wait to see the adults!
Cheers,
- Pete
I've been rearing a few White-letter Hairstreak from ova this year, and the first larva has just pupated, so time to tell the story through pictures! First, the egg, looking very much like a saucer from outer space which over-wintered, with a fully-formed caterpillar inside.
Unfortunately, I failed to get any decent shots of the 1st instar larvae, as they immediately headed for the elm flower buds and seemed to disappear completely! However, the 2nd instar larvae were more-exposed, although perfectly camouflaged against the flowers and developing seeds (and they were quite variable in colour).
The 3rd instar larvae were also quite variable in colour, but started to move in earnest from the flower buds and developing seeds to the leaves - most of which weren't out yet. The last photo in this series shows how the larva plunged its neck into the developing buds and scooped out the contents - you can see an exit hole at the top! This photo is almost identical to an illustration in Frohawk's classic "The Natural History of British Butterflies". I'm wondering if this behaviour happens in the wild or, as so often happens, growth is accelerated in captivity (despite being kept outdoors!).
The final instar seemed to lose most of their variegated colouration, being a more-even green to match an elm leaf. The shape of the larva perfectly matched the outline of the elm leaves it fed upon.
The colour changed as the time to pupate arrived, when the larva turns a very dull green.
And finally, the pupa is typically formed on the underside of a leaf, or on a twig, attached by a silk girdle and the cremaster.
Can't wait to see the adults!
Cheers,
- Pete
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
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- Padfield
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Re: Pete Eeles
Fantastic, Pete! Your larvae are well ahead of the one I found today. I look forward to your pictures of the adults emerging!
Guy
Guy
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- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
Thanks Guy - and a word of warning - watching immature stages can be addictive!padfield wrote:Fantastic, Pete! Your larvae are well ahead of the one I found today. I look forward to your pictures of the adults emerging!
Guy
For some reason, individuals I breed in captivity, irrespective of species and location in my garden, always seem to feed up at an accelerated rate. I can only put it down to the relatively-sheltered conditions (essentially, the larvae are enclosed on all sides!).
Cheers,
- Pete
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Re: Pete Eeles
The 4th instar larvae have a remarkable resemblance to a newly-developing wych elm leaf. Like the purple emperor, this is another species where the larva is a master of disguise at all stages.
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- Pete Eeles
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Re: Pete Eeles
Lardon Chase / The Holies
I managed to get out for an hour this morning, so went to the National Trust sites near Streatley. Among the many Common Blue and Small Heath, I managed to come across a small number (3 !) male Adonis Blue. The brilliant blue of the males is unmistakable when the males are flying alongside Common Blues!
Cheers,
- Pete
I managed to get out for an hour this morning, so went to the National Trust sites near Streatley. Among the many Common Blue and Small Heath, I managed to come across a small number (3 !) male Adonis Blue. The brilliant blue of the males is unmistakable when the males are flying alongside Common Blues!
Cheers,
- Pete
Diary entries for 2010 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies: http://www.butterflylifecycles.com
British & Irish Butterflies Rarities: http://www.butterflyrarities.com
British & Irish Butterflies Rarities: http://www.butterflyrarities.com